Atomic Books Gets Even More Ecclectic with Insane 3-D Printer

Recently, Atomic Books, Hampden’s favorite alt-comics/outsider fiction/etc. shop, began serving alcohol. And now, to further secure their status as an indispensable Baltimore cultural hub, the store has become one of the first in the area to offer customers access to a futuristic 3-D printer.

Actually, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun, it wasn’t the owners’ idea to have customers pose for miniature plastic busts using technology that promises to revolutionize manufacturing (unique objects can be made at low cost) and arouses dystopian fears (what if someone 3D prints a gun?!).

Andy Ta and Russ Reese proposed to lug their printer to Atomic Books on the second Sunday of every month, photograph customers’ heads from multiple angles, and use the machine to build up a three-dimensional likeness one millimeter-thick layer of molten plastic at a time. As you might expect, the process takes a while. So you pick up your $20-$40 bust a day or two later.